Alberto Vargas, Peruvian (1896 - 1982)

Born in Arequipa, Peru, Joaquin Alberto Vargas y Chavez studied art in Zurich and Geneva prior to WW I. While there he also visited Paris and that was when he discovered Ingres and Raphael Kirchner. Kirchner was a premier artist for La Vie Parisienne. Kirchner's technique and his approach to the female figure profoundly influenced Vargas. In 1916 Vargas headed home to Peru via the US, but he stayed in New York and found work retouching photographsas well as drawing and painting.

In 1919, Vargas became the primary Ziegfeld artist for twelve years.When that work ended in 1931 he found himself in financial hardship and desperate for work. Then Esquire hired him to replace George Petty, another well-known pin-up artist of the time. In 1958, Vargas finally returned to Peru for a much-needed break from his commercial artist career. Back in the US in 1960, Hugh Hefner hired Vargas to paint foldout nudes for Playboy magazine. At the age of 64, Vargas began a new career that would finally give him the respect and financial security he merited. He worked for Playboy for 16 years during which time he produced 152 paintings. Many of them were masterpieces, but the constant need to create a glamorous painting of a sexy 19 year old month after month often resulted in some formulaic and occasionally perfunctory work.

Vargas had an intuitive ability to paint an idealized female form glorified but never vulgarized. Vargas’ art was all about sensuality and seduction, but the sex was never blatant.